Conveyor apparatus for collating bagged products

ABSTRACT

In a conveyor apparatus, bagged food products fall from a first inclined belt onto a second horizontal belt. As they fall, the bagged food products engage a bar and flip forwardly onto the second belt. The bar has a friction enhancing covering which aids in pivoting the bagged food product onto the second belt, resulting in a properly collated array of bagged food products.

This is a Rule 1.60 continuation application of Ser. No. 08/208,644filed Mar. 9, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,932.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for positioningbagged food products on a conveyor, and in particular, to a conveyorapparatus for collating bagged food products and thereby aiding in thetransfer of the bagged food products into shipping cartons.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to expedite the packing of individually bagged food products,such as potato chips, into shipping cartons, it is desirable to have thebagged food products in a vertically oriented array. The verticalorienting of bagged food products, known in the art as collating, allowsfor efficient transition of the bagged food product into shippingcartons.

Formerly, the process of gathering the bagged food products fromconveyors and transferring them into shipping cartons was a tedious andtime consuming task. The bagged food products were randomly spaced andhorizontally positioned on the conveyor making it difficult to transferthe individually bagged food products from the conveyor into theshipping cartons.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,906 issued Nov. 2, 1982, to David M. Fallas,discloses a device that eliminates the difficult task of manuallygathering and arranging the food product bags on the conveyor fortransfer into the shipping cartons. However, the prior device wasexpensive and complicated. In contrast, the present invention achievesthe same result in a less expensive and more efficient manner.

The present invention includes a first inclined portion of a conveyorsystem for elevating the food product bags and dropping them onto asecond horizontal portion of the conveyor system. The first inclinedportion of the conveyor system has a horizontal rubber coated bar forengaging the bagged food products and causing them to tip forwardly asthey fall from the first inclined portion of the conveyor system ontothe second horizontal portion of the conveyor system resulting in aproperly collated array of bagged food packages for transfer intoshipping cartons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had byreference to the following Detailed Description when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a right side view of a conveyor system incorporating thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the conveyor system of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are enlargements of a portion of FIG. 1 showing varioussteps in the operation of the conveyor system;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective of the conveyor system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a portion of the conveyor system of FIG.1; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatical illustration of a second embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the Drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, baggedfood products B are collated by a conveyor system 10. The conveyorsystem 10 comprises a first frame 12 having a horizontal portion 13 andan inclined portion 15 and a second frame 14. The first and secondframes 12, 14 consist of a right side 23 and a left side 25. The firstframe 12 is supported by vertical legs 28, 30, 32 and 34 (it beingunderstood that identical vertical legs are employed on the oppositeside of the device) with vertical legs 28 and 30 supporting thehorizontal portion 13 and vertical legs 32 and 34 supporting theinclined portion 15 of the first frame 12.

A first roller 20 and a second roller 22 are located at opposite ends ofthe first frame 12. The first roller 20 is rotatably supported on thefirst frame 12 by a first shaft 62, and the second roller 22 isrotatably supported on the first frame 12 by a second shaft 64. A firstbelt 18 encircles the first roller 20 and the second roller 22. Thebagged food products B on the first frame 12 of the conveyor system 10are placed on the first belt 18 and are separated by flights 16. A drivemechanism D1 moves the first belt 18 around the first roller 20 and thesecond roller 22 and thereby transports the bagged food products Brightwardly (FIG. 1) and upwardly along the inclined portion 15 of thefirst frame 12.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, a first arm 44 is connected to the inclinedportion 15 of the right side 23 of the first frame 12 near the secondroller 22. A similar arm is connected to the inclined portion 15 of theleft side 25 of the first frame 12. A first finger 50 is pivotallyconnected to the first arm 44 by means of a pin 48, and a second finger52 is pivotally connected to its associated arm by means of a similarpin. A bar 56 is connected to the ends of the first finger 50 and secondfinger 52 by means of a shaft 54. A first spring 58 is connected betweenthe inclined portion 15 of the right side 23 of the first frame 12 andthe first finger 50. A second spring 59 is similarly connected betweenthe second finger 52 and the left side 25 of first frame 12. The pivotalconnection of the first finger 50 and the first arm 44 on the right side23 of frame 12 and the identical configuration on the left side 25 offrame 12 along with the first and second springs 58 and 59 provide asafety mechanism that allows for movement of the bar 56 if a foreignobject, such as a hand, is trapped between the first belt 18 and the bar56.

A second frame 14 of the conveyor system 10 consists of a right side 23and a left side 25 and is supported by vertical legs 36 and 38. The topsof the vertical legs 36 and 38 are secured to the second frame 14. Thebottoms of the vertical legs 36 and 38 are braced by a horizontal leg 40(it being understood that identical vertical and horizontal legs areemployed on the opposite side of the device).

A third roller 24 and a fourth roller 26 are located at opposite ends ofthe second frame 14. The third roller 24 is rotatably supported on thesecond frame 14 by a third shaft 66 and the fourth roller 26 isrotatably supported on the second frame 14 by a fourth shaft 68. Asecond belt 19 encircles the third roller 24 and the fourth roller 26.The bagged food products B are received on the second belt 19 and aredetected by a photosensor P. A drive mechanism D2 moves the second belt19 around the third roller 24 and the fourth roller 26. In oneembodiment of the invention, the first belt 18 is operated continuouslyto sequentially drop bagged food products B onto the second belt 19.Each bagged food product B is detected by the photosensor P whichactivates the drive mechanism D2 to move the second belt 19 apredetermined increment and thereby move the collated bagged foodproducts B rightwardly (FIG. 1).

FIG. 2 illustrates elbows 100 and 102 that assist in the alignment ofthe bagged food products B as they proceed up the inclined portion 15 ofthe first frame 12 of the conveyor system 10 under the action of thebelt 18.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate the operational sequence of the conveyorsystem 10 as the bagged food products B fall from the first belt 18 tothe second belt 19 of the conveyor system 10. FIG. 3 shows one of thebagged food products B as it simultaneously contacts the second roller22 and the bar 56. FIG. 4 shows how the bar 56 aids in flipping eachbagged food product B forwardly as it falls from the first belt 18 ontothe second belt 19. FIG. 5 shows the bagged food products B properlycollated on the second belt 19 of the conveyor system 10.

Near the vertical leg 36 is an extension 82 with the lower portion ofthe extension 82 attached to the right side 23 of the second frame 14 byan upper bolt 74 and a lower bolt 76 and the upper portion of theextension 82 supporting a shield 70. FIG. 6 illustrates the shields 70and 72 attached to the extensions 82 and 84, respectively. The shield 70is attached to the bracket 88 which in turn is attached to the arms 78and 80 of the extension 82 by means of fasteners 92 and 94. Similarly,the shield 72 is attached to bracket 86 which in turn is attached to thearms 79 and 81 of the extension 84 by means of fasteners 96 and 98.

FIG. 7 shows friction enhancing material 90 covering the bar 56 attachedat the end of the first frame 12 of the conveyor system 10. Material 90may be synthetic rubber, or any of various plastic materials. Thematerial 90 ensures proper operation of the conveyor system 10 asillustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5.

A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 8. The bar56 having the material 90 may be mounted on a yoke 104 which is in turnmounted on the piston rod 106 of a cylinder 108. It has been found thatin certain instances the operation of the present invention asillustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 may not cause proper collation of thebagged food products B. In such instances, the cylinder 108 may beactuated to advance the piston rod 106 and therefore the bar 56 therebycausing a misaligned bagged food product B to be properly collated asillustrated in FIG. 1.

Although the specific embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoingDetailed Description, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited to the embodiment disclosed, but may be modified withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined bythe following claims.

I claim:
 1. A conveyor apparatus comprising:an inclined conveyor portionhaving a discharge end from which bagged food products are dropped; ahorizontal conveyor portion disposed beneath the discharge end of theinclined conveyor portion for receiving the dropped bagged foodproducts; and a cylinder, normally fixedly positioned between theinclined conveyor portion and the horizontal conveyor portion, forengaging the bagged food products as they fall from the inclinedconveyor portion and flipping the bagged food products forward such thatbagged food products land in a substantially upright position on thehorizontal conveyor portion, thereby collating them.
 2. The apparatus inclaim 1, wherein said cylinder has a friction enhancing coating thataids in flipping the bagged food products forward.
 3. The apparatus inclaim 1, further including a safety device for displacing the cylinderif a foreign object is caught between the inclined conveyor portion andthe cylinder.
 4. The conveyor apparatus of claim 1 further including aphotosensing means for determining when the bagged products are receivedon the horizontal conveyor portion and controlling movement of thehorizontal conveyor portion.